Anyone Ever Use "Fenugreek" to Increase Breast Milk Supply?

Updated on March 02, 2008
K.P. asks from Richardson, TX
8 answers

I feel my 2-week old son isn't getting enough milk...we have appointments at the lactation consultation & his pediatrician Thursday. I'll definitely ask them, but we're curious. Have any of you tried it?

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E.K.

answers from Dallas on

Hi K.,
I took it with all 3 pregnancies, and yes it did help. Unfortunately, I couldn't keep it up as long as I would have liked because eventually I couldn't produce anymore.
There is also a tea called "mother's milk" (I think that's it) at health food stores....that helped too.
good luck

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M.G.

answers from Dallas on

It does work but you have to have established your milk supply first. With a baby under a month old you are still growing your supply to meet his demands. BF on demand and do it often. This is the best way to make sure you are getting your milk going. Count the wet diapers he is producing. Do not ever rely on poopie diapers as a BF baby will have less waste than a formula fed baby since BM is so digestible. About 6-8 wet diapers is the goal.

Congratulations by the way.;)

1 mom found this helpful
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N.R.

answers from Dallas on

I have used it. I took an over the counter sinus medicine and it ended up drying up my milk supply. I was trying to get it back and used fenugreek. It did seem to increase it but my little guy was just to hungry to help me get my milk supply back up to where it needed to be and I still had the sinus infection so I just stopped breastfeeding. I would say to use it if you need a boost in that area. I might have seen better results if I hadn't had the sinus infection. I think the fenugreek is what kept it from drying up completely. Because once I stopped using the fenugreek it did dry up.

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N.M.

answers from Dallas on

I took a prescription to increase my milk supply and it didn't seem to help. Then my lactation consultant said to try fenugreek. There are some things you need to double check before starting it (medical stuff), and your lactation consultant or OB should know about that (if not, PM me and I can email my IBCLC and ask her what they were...its been a while as my little one is now 4 yrs old). Basically, you smell like maple syrup, your little one could even start to smell like a breakfast platter, and it does affect your BMs (and theirs sometimes). However, if breastfeeding is important to you, and you can overcome the constant craving for pancakes (hehe) then you should try it. It saved my sanity!!!!!!!!!!!

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E.M.

answers from Dallas on

Hello K., congratulations to both of you to your new baby boy! I think it is fantastic, that you decided to breastfeed your baby. Did you know, that breastfeeding will help to loose excess weight and also help to get certain muscles back into shape by increasing contractions? I found this organic tea for you with the following ingredients: blessed thistle, fennel and fenugreek seeds, anise and alfalfa. It is said, that herbs usually work better in a combination. You can order the above tea online from: http://www.breastfeedingwomen.com/Home.html - you also may be able to get this tea at Central Market, Whole food Store or Asia World Market, International Food Market, or any Indian or Mexican grocery store. You also could buy the individual teas and seeds and mix it yourself in a big jar (may be cheaper that way); then use a natural cloth (not bleached)tea net to brew and filter it. You could make a concentrate from the tea, keep it in the fridge and add hot water as needed. This is the website of the "La Leche League group" - a wonderful website that has all kinds of information for moms. http://forums.lalecheleague.org/showthread.php?t=1635 - they may have a local support group of nursing moms near you. One more thing: drink plenty of water and eat foods with high water contents. Best wishes, E.

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K.K.

answers from Dallas on

IT Works....my lactation nurse told me to take 3 three times a day....the bottle does not say to take that much, but she reassured me it was okay. It definitely increased the supply. I have also used Mother's Milk tea and eating oatmeal, but nothing worked quite like this did. You will be flowing....

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C.D.

answers from Dallas on

I tried it and I'm not sure if it worked because I stopped using it. I could not stand how it made me smell! You will smell like a big stack of pancakes with syrup! The pills themself smell like syrup and then it just comes out of your pores. I hated the smell!!!

I asked my OB about a prescription. He prescribed me something to increase my supply and it worked. I can not remember the name of it, but it worked! Ask your OB...good luck!

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M.D.

answers from Dallas on

I took it with both of my children - took one pill in the a.m. and one pill in the p.m. when I felt that my supply was down. It worked great and within about 24 hours I had a good increase! It does make you smell like syrup, though! I was hungry for pancakes all of the time! Ha!

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